Too close to call: Suzy Loftus widens lead over Chesa Boudin in SF district attorney race

Suzy Loftus (left) and Chesa Boudin are in a close race for the San Francisco District Attorney office.

Suzy Loftus (left) and Chesa Boudin are in a close race for the San Francisco District Attorney office.

Photo: Suzy Loftus, Chesa Boudin

Photo: Suzy Loftus, Chesa Boudin

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Suzy Loftus (left) and Chesa Boudin are in a close race for the San Francisco District Attorney office.

Suzy Loftus (left) and Chesa Boudin are in a close race for the San Francisco District Attorney office.

Photo: Suzy Loftus, Chesa Boudin

Too close to call: Suzy Loftus widens lead over Chesa Boudin in SF district attorney race

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Suzy Loftus and Chesa Boudin are locked in a too-close-to-call race to become San Francisco's next district attorney.

Loftus is ahead by 2,205 votes, according to the latest results from the city's elections department. Earlier in the day, she was only ahead by 240 votes. (Editor's note: This story was updated at 4 p.m. with new tallies.)

In the Wednesday afternoon update, Boudin had 1,190 more first-choice votes than Loftus, but after multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting that eliminated candidates Nancy Tung and Leif Dautch, Loftus had 55,830 votes to 53,625 for Boudin — a 51.01 to 48.99 percent margin.

All of the city’s precincts have reported, but more vote-by-mail ballots need to be counted.

More Election News

The road leading up to Tuesday's election, the first district attorney race in the city in more than 100 years with no incumbent running, was a bumpy one.

In October, District Attorney George Gascón announced he would not be seeking re-election. Instead, he will be running for district attorney in Los Angeles. He stepped down from his position as D.A. in San Francisco before completing his term to prepare for the L.A. race.

Mayor London Breed appointed Loftus, the candidate she endorsed, as interim district attorney. Some accused Breed of "unfairly granting her preferred candidate the benefit of incumbency," according to The Chronicle.

Boudin, an attorney in the public defender's office, has gotten the most national press for his unusual family background: Both of his parents were imprisoned for their connection to the radical left-wing group Weather Underground. His mother served 22 years, while his father is still in prison.

Another close race in San Francisco is for District 5 Board of Supervisor. Challenger Dean Preston was locked in a tight race with incumbent Vallie Brown, with vote-by-mail and provisional ballots still to be counted.

Bay City News contributed to this story.

Amy Graff is a digital editor for SFGATE. Email her at agraff@sfgate.com.